NBC Connecticut | By: Matt Austin
Have you run into sneaky fees when booking a hotel, renting a car, or searching for a flight? Those charges can also be frustrating for people looking to rent an apartment.
Advocates for renters are hopeful a new state law will make a difference.
The average rent in Connecticut is down about $50 from this time last year, according to Zillow. But it’s still about $1,900 a month. And now, more people are dealing with “hidden fees.”
The average monthly fees, which include charges like an application or amenity fee, are $65, adding up to an extra $780 a year, according to Apartments.com.
“It’s sort of like bait and switch in many ways for people, and this, even when you think you’re financially stable enough to manage the housing costs, you find out all of a sudden that it’s going to be costing you hundreds of dollars more than you planned,” said Samaila Adelaiye, a research and policy fellow at the Partnership for Strong Communities.
The new state law will require those extra fees to be clearly disclosed in the apartment ad.
“That’s the intent, so that as a renter, you go in knowing, ‘This is what it’s actually going to cost me per month,’ whether it’s rent, parking, and whatever the other individual pieces are broken out or included in one number,” said Michael Santoro, policy research director of the Housing Department. “Either one is acceptable as long as you get to see all of it up front.”